Los Angeles, June 22 (IANS) Belgium was left frustrated after a goalless draw with Iran in their FIFA World Cup Group G match. The game finished goalless, but it was incident-stacked. Belgium registered 20 shots, Thibaut Courtois made two superb saves to deny Iran, Mehdi Taremi had a goal disallowed for offside, and Nathan Ngoy was sent off.

The result means that the Red Devils and Team Melli can both go through and both go out as it is all to play for in Group G.

Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia told the post-match press conference, “We lacked efficiency up front. We hit the target, but we didn’t test the goalkeeper enough. Playing with ten men didn’t help either. We’ve had matches like this before and usually scored at least three goals. That’s part of a slow start to a World Cup. At times, we looked a bit hesitant.”

The match was marked by some terrific saves from Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and his Belgian counterpart Thibaut Courtois, with Belgium dominating possession but ending with 10 men after the dismissal of center-back Nathan Ngoy in the 66th minute.

“We expected to dominate and we did. So tactically, in terms of the game plan, we played as we wanted to. The Iranian team were going to hit us hard on the breakaways and their set pieces are very good. We responded well but we could’ve done better – maybe we were a little naive. If you’re not efficient, you can’t score, and if you don’t score, you can’t win the match,” Garcia added.

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku said, “We have to analyse what went wrong because we created so many chances without scoring, and that’s frustrating.”

Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin said, “I’m very frustrated. I think the ball didn’t roll for us in the last 30 metres. It was the type of game in which the ball is just not dropping for you, and everything goes well for them – and their goalkeeper had a brilliant game.”

In the first round of Group G matches, Belgium was held 1-1 by Egypt, while Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand.

In Group G, the third round kicks off simultaneously on June 26. Belgium faces New Zealand in Vancouver, Canada, while Iran plays Egypt in Seattle, the United States.

“Obviously, we had hoped to start better and win all our matches – or at least one,” Garcia admitted, adding, “We know exactly what result we’ll need against New Zealand.”

Lukaku noted, “It’s a World Cup, it’s the biggest tournament, the biggest stage. We don’t want to go home. We want to go as far as possible, and we want to put ourselves in the greatest position. Let’s go for it.”

–IANS

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